Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park History
Through out time there has been human activity and occupation within the Fakahatchee Strand. During prehistoric periods of lower sea levels, when water was in short supply on the peninsula, the sinkholes were very often a focus of activity for Paleo-Indian (ca. 12,000 BC to 6500 BC) and Early Archaic (ca. 6500 BC to 5000 BC) peoples. From about 500 BC to European contact people of the Circum-Glades culture were prevalent in the area.
Throughout the history of the Glades Culture the basic subsistence pattern of hunting, gathering and fishing seems to have persisted. While other Florida cultures to the north gradually made the transition to agriculture production, people of the Circum-Glades area remained relatively unchanged for about two thousand years. Not only did their subsistence pattern endure, but also their technology changed very little over this long time span.
At the southern tip of the preserve, on a point where the Fakahatchee River and East River empty into the Fakahatchee Bay are the remains of an early pioneer settlement known as Daniel’s Point. This is where John Daniels raised his family and scratched out a living from the early 1900s to the 1940s. Directly across Fakahatchee Bay from Daniels Point existed a settlement of several families on Fakahatchee Island. The settlement was large enough to support its own school. This is where the Daniels’ children went to school.
Beginning in the early 1940s the logging of cypress trees became prevalent in the Big Cypress Swamp. During the period between the early 1940s to the late 1950s the Fakahatchee Strand was also logged for its valuable bald cypress trees. The C.J. Jones Logging Co. was one of the companies involved in this endeavor. Cypress logging was very successful and profitable until the late 1950s. Today remnants of the old logging rail beds (ie.trams) are used as access and hiking trails within the swamp.
Throughout the history of the Glades Culture the basic subsistence pattern of hunting, gathering and fishing seems to have persisted. While other Florida cultures to the north gradually made the transition to agriculture production, people of the Circum-Glades area remained relatively unchanged for about two thousand years. Not only did their subsistence pattern endure, but also their technology changed very little over this long time span.
At the southern tip of the preserve, on a point where the Fakahatchee River and East River empty into the Fakahatchee Bay are the remains of an early pioneer settlement known as Daniel’s Point. This is where John Daniels raised his family and scratched out a living from the early 1900s to the 1940s. Directly across Fakahatchee Bay from Daniels Point existed a settlement of several families on Fakahatchee Island. The settlement was large enough to support its own school. This is where the Daniels’ children went to school.
Beginning in the early 1940s the logging of cypress trees became prevalent in the Big Cypress Swamp. During the period between the early 1940s to the late 1950s the Fakahatchee Strand was also logged for its valuable bald cypress trees. The C.J. Jones Logging Co. was one of the companies involved in this endeavor. Cypress logging was very successful and profitable until the late 1950s. Today remnants of the old logging rail beds (ie.trams) are used as access and hiking trails within the swamp.
